“BIG JOHN” SURTEES | THE LONE RACER MOTORCYCLE & F1 WORLD CHAMPION | The Selvedge Yard by JP “BIG JOHN” SURTEES | THE LONE RACER MOTORCYCLE & F1 WORLD CHAMPION In all of history it has happened only once. Only one man has ever won the World Championship in both motorcycle and auto racing– John Surtees. In 1956, at the wee age of 22 yrs old, he became the 500cc motorcycle World Champion. Then in 1960, he switched full-time to auto racing, and was crowned Formula One World Champion in 1964. At 26 yrs of age, he’d become the only man ever to win a World Championship on two wheels and four. There has been no one since, and perhaps nevermore. Grand Prix motorcycle racing career Active years 1972 Italian Grand Prix . 1954 — John Surtees with Norton motorcycles. Surtees rode these machines in the Isle of Man TT races in 1954 , finishing 11th in the Junior race and 15th in the Senior.

Over his TT racing career he won on six occasions. In 1960, Surtees moved from motorcycles to car racing, and remains the only man to have been world champion in both. — Photograph via National Motor Museum / HIP / TopFoto . John Surtees racing for MV Agusta. When MV approached him at the end of the 1955 season, young 21-year-old Surtees, who was born into a well-to-do family of motorcycle enthusiasts in Catford, had already won 77 races, mainly with Norton 350’s and 500’s. He was capable of bringing Cascina Costa its first 500 title during his first season with the Italian brand. Inventor of a new style that was challenged and that is at the roots of today’s riding technique with the body outstretched towards the inside of the curve, he won another six titles in the 350 and 500 classes between 1958 and 1960. Of course they were “easy” years for MV due to the fact that the leading rivals pulled out. via . John Surtees getting air… .

This pic is often credited as being John Surtees scratching on his father’s Vincent in the 1950s. But it’s been proven now, by his own acknowledgement that it’s not. . Isle of Man TT, 1957 — John Surtees . 1957 — TT Assen, (Left to Right) John Surtees – Keith Campbell – Libero Liberati – Dickie Dale. . 1958 — At the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Germany was banned from taking part in International events following WWII– as such, the German GP only became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1951. (Left to Right) June Hartle, John Hartle, John Surtees, John Surtees sister & mother. via . John Surtees grew up the son of a London motorcycle dealer, and had his very first professional race in the sidecar of his father’s Vincent, which they handily won. However, they were later disqualified by race officials when discovered his age. In 1950, at just 16 yrs of age, he joined Vincent as an apprentice.

John Surtees first made the motorcycling world take notice when, in 1951, he gave Norton’s reigning star Geoff Duke a run for his money in an ACU race at the Thruxton Circuit. . England, 1960 — British motorcycle racer John Surtees fine tunes his Formula II Cooper motorcycle. — Image by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis . John Surtees drives his F1 Lotus up University Avenue heading towards the raceway for the 1960 U.S. Grand Prix. This pic is so rad I want to cry. via . 1962– John Surtees, driver for Lola-Climax, at the Belgium Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort, Netherlands, 1963 — John Surtees (GB), for Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC in the iconic 156 F1– first built by Ferrari in 1961 to comply with new F1 regulations at the time that lowered engine displacement from 2.5 to 1.5 liters.

It was powered by the V6 “Dino” engine (named after Enzo’s late son) that could produce up to 200 hp. The early “sharknose” design was breath-taking, but Ferrari design scrapped it by the end of the ’63 season for the more conventional intake seen above. via . 1963– Richie Ginther, driver for BRM, leads John Surtees, driver for Ferrari, around a corner at the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . Zandvoort, Netherlands, 1964 — John Surtees and fellow Formula One racers on grid for the Dutch Grand Prix — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . 1964 — Formula One racing legend John Surtees . John Surtees and fellow drivers run to their sportscars during the start of the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans. — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . 1965– Driver John Surtees, and Ferrari Formula One car designer at the time, Mauro Forghieri. .

May 30th, 1965 — John Surtees, driving a Ferrari 158 V8, follows his teammate Lorenzo Bandini, driving a Ferrari 1512 F12, during the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . French Grand Prix, 1965 — John Surtees (Ferrari), struck powerless to defend his F1 crown against the surging Scots– Jim Clark (Lotus/Climax) and Jackie Stewart (BRM). — Photograph © Schlegelmilch via . June 12th, 1966 — John Surtees, racing for Ferrari, turns a corner in the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps. The 1966 season ushered in larger 3-liter engines to Formula One. Surtees’s debut with Ferrari’s new F1 car was at the 1966 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone, where he qualified and finished a close second behind Jack Brabham’s 3-liter Brabham BT19.

A few weeks later, Surtees led the Monaco Grand Prix, pulling away from Jackie Stewart’s 2-liter BRM on the straights, before his engine failed. Two weeks later Surtees survived the first lap rainstorm which eliminated half the field and won the Belgian Grand Prix. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . Fans, drivers, and race officials get into position shortly before the start of the 1966 German Grand Prix at Nuerburgring. The front row of drivers (Left-Right) Jim Clark in his Lotus-Climax, John Surtees in a Cooper-Maserati, Jackie Stewart in his BRM, and Ludovico Scarfiotti in his Ferrari. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . 1966 was the year that Ford swept the 24 Hours of Le mans powered by Carroll Shelby’s GT 40 Mk. II’s. Finally getting the upper hand on Ferrari. It was not Ferrari’s only loss at Le Mans– John Surtees arrived at the race expecting to be partnered with Mike Parkes– instead Ferrari team manager Eugenio Dragoni had put “Big John” with Ludovico Scarfiotti.

Surtees quit Ferrari, and finished the season driving for the Cooper-Maserati team, winning the last race of the season and finishing second in the drivers’ championship, 14 points behind Brabham. . 1967 — The Chaparral prototype of Phil Hill and the Lola Aston Martin prototype of John Surtees have yet to move off their marks as the Porsche armada leaves the start line with Jo Siffert in the lead at the start of the 1000km Nurburgring race in the World Sportscar Championships. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . John Surtees, driving for the Honda racing team, adjusts his goggles before the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . in 1967, John Surtees joined the new Honda racing team– above he’s racing at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. Surtees was forced out of the race after 32 laps due to engine trouble. At the Italian Grand Prix that year, Surtees slipstreamed Jack Brabham to take Honda’s second F1 victory by 0.2 seconds.

Surtees would finish fourth in the 1967 drivers’ championship. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . 1968 — Lotus-Ford Formula One driver Jo Siffert stops to borrow a dry visor from retired teammate Graham Hill as John Surtees speeds past in his Honda during a wet French Grand Prix. — Photograph © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . Bergamo, Italy, 1965 — Scuderia Ferrari Formula One race team in 1965 including racecar drivers Lorenzo Bandini (in car), John Surtees (far right) and race engineer Mauro Forghieri (third from right). — Image by © Manuel Litran/Corbis . Monza, Italy — Honda driver John Surtees prepares for the 1968 Italian Grand Prix in Monza. — Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis . Monza, Italy — Honda driver John Surtees waits during a pit stop in the 1968 Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

— Image by © Schlegelmilch/Corbis RELATED TSY POSTS: Rampant Rossi races to fifth straight title | Sport | The Guardian Rampant Rossi races to fifth straight title Mark Bendeich in Sepang Sunday 25 September 2005 20.55 EDT First published on Sunday 25 September 2005 20.55 EDT Share on Messenger Close The Italian Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP world championship for the fifth year in a row yesterday after finishing second in the Malaysian grand prix. Rossi, finishing behind his compatriot Loris Capirossi's Ducati, joins Giacomo Agostini and Mick Doohan as the only riders to have won the premier class of grand-prix racing five times or more. Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "7", the number of world championships he has won in all classes, the 26-year-old Rossi said this year's championship was a difficult quest.

"Last year was more of a surprise," he said, explaining that his switch at the end of 2003 from Honda to Yamaha, then seen as the inferior bike, had lifted the burden of expectation in 2004. "This year, all of the other riders want to beat me and try 100 %," he added. Rossi needed to finish within 12 points of Max Biaggi, another Italian, to take the championship. Biaggi, on a Honda, finished sixth, leaving him just 17 points ahead of Capirossi and with an increasingly desperate battle to hang on to second place. The Spaniard Carlos Checa took third, giving Ducati two places on the podium and a boost for the manufacturers. They have now won two races back-to-back, under Capirossi, and appear to have worked out a winning combination of machine and tyre with Bridgestone. Rossi and the pole-starter Capirossi played cat-and-mouse at the halfway stage, with Rossi grabbing the lead twice and flirting with danger before Capirossi snatched it back and held it.

With three laps to go, it looked like Rossi, who crashed out of the Motegi grand prix in Japan a week ago, was thinking of the championship rather than the race and he did not threaten again. The flamboyant young champion said later that Capirossi's Ducati was unassailable on a baking-hot Sepang circuit. "For sure, I try," he said. "For three corners, he played with me like a cat and a mouse, so I say, OK, see you next time." Rossi, Italy's most sought-after sportsman, won the 125cc title in 1997, the 250cc crown in 1999 and was the last 500cc world champion in 2001 with Honda. He won the first two MotoGP titles with Honda before making the switch to Yamaha and winning the title again at his first attempt on the previously uncompetitive M1 bike.

His seventh title in all classes equals the career totals accumulated by the Britons Phil Read and John Surtees with only Agostini (15), Spain's Angel Nieto (13), Britain's Mike Hailwood and the Italian Carlo Ubbiali (both nine) having won more. Rossi's run of five successive titles matches the Australian Doohan's feat from 1994 to 1998, although both riders trail Italian Agostini's seven in a row from 1966 to 1972. Such is Rossi's domination of the top class of grand prix racing - he has won 51 of 93 races since he moved up from the 250cc class in 2000 - that there is no doubt he could equal Agostini's tally. But Rossi is contracted to Yamaha only until the end of next season and has had two tests in a formula one car with Ferrari this year, with more planned for next.

He has said he has made no plans for 2007 but has not ruled out moving to four wheels in an attempt to emulate Surtees, the only man to have won the top prize in motorcycling and the formula one world title. Surtees’ golden year | MCN Surtees’ golden year Published: 03 March 2016 Britain’s most highly decorated rider is awarded CBE 60 years after his first world title and TT win ohn Surtees is now the most celebrated motorcycle racer of all time having just been awarded a CBE to go with his MBE and OBE. The 82-year-old was bestowed the rank of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List in recognition not only of his achievements in, motorsport (Surtees remains the only man to have won both the MotoGP and F1 world titles), but also for his work with the Henry Surtees Foundation – the charity he set up after the death of his son in a car racing accident in 2009.

Totally unrivalled Rossi dipped his toe into the car racing world but came nowhere near to matching Surtees’ form Speaking exclusively to MCN, Surtees said: “I am honoured to receive this award. This year marks the anniversary of me winning my first TT and motorcycle world championship in 1956 and of my winning the CanAm American Sports Car Championship, and winning the Belgian and Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1966. I look upon this award as being shared with those that I have worked with and have helped me through my career.” Brave competitor A fourth place finish on the 350cc MV in the 1957 Isle of Man TT was Surtees’ only finish of the season, prompting him to tackle Count Agusta directly over engine reliability issues Surtees won his first 500cc world title for MV Agusta back in 1956 and would go on to win a further six world crowns in the 350cc and 500cc classes as well as winning six Isle of Man TT races between 1956 and 1960.

Surtees’ record in motorcycling was truly astonishing: he took 38 Grand Prix wins from 49 starts! His TT record was equally impressive, with six wins and two further podiums from just 14 race starts. Royal approval In 2009 the Queen added an OBE to Surtees’ other accolades After switching to cars in 1961, Surtees went on to achieve the seemingly impossible by winning the F1 world title for Ferarri in 1964. Taking world titles on both two and four wheels is an achievement never likely to be repeated as both disciplines have become more intensely focused in recent decades. Family values A 22-year-old Surtees gets a kiss from his mother after his first TT win For some, the news that Surtees has been awarded the CBE will come as a bit of a disappointment as many of his most ardent admirers believe that he has done more than enough to merit a Knighthood. In 2013 an online petition was set up in an attempt to persuade the Queen to dub him ‘Sir John’ but that particular honour has remained elusive.

Surtees, modest as ever, played down the issue when asked about it in 2013. “It might happen but you never know,” he said. “The Government does tend to have rather a lot of things on its mind at the moment.” Still in the saddle Reunited with the 500cc MV Agusta that took him to four world championship crowns in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960, Surtees still enjoys the chance to sling a leg over it at events like Goodwood Surtees’ first gong came way back in 1959 when he was awarded the MBE for his services to motorcycle racing. Almost half a century passed before he was given the higher rank of OBE in 2008. The CBE is the highest honour anyone can achieve before being granted a Knighthood. Surely it’s only a matter of time? After all, Sir John Surtees does sound right – and it couldn’t be more deserving.

Title fighter 1956 - 500cc world champion (MV Agusta) 1958 - 350cc and 500cc world champion (MV Agusta) 1959 - 350cc and 500cc world champion (MV Agusta) 1960 - 350cc and 500cc world champion (MV Agusta) 1964 - Formula 1 World Champion (Ferarri) Words: Stuart Barker Photos: Rex Features/Bauer Archive By MCN Motorcycle History: John Surtees and Mike Hailwood — | RideApart Tweet Each week RideApart looks back at key milestones in motorcycle history from technical innovations to significant model introductions to racing successes and, of course, some of the disastrous things we’d rather forget. This week we take a look at a pair of British bike racers — John Surtees and Mike Hailwood — that made a name for themselves not only on two wheels but also on four. You’d think it would be hard enough to race a motorcycle throughout a season, continually beat the competition and then, at the end of the year, win a World Championship.

It would be even harder to do that all over again seven times and, once you’d finished and proved your point, most people would then call it a day and retire. But, Englishman John Surtees is no ordinary man. During the late 1950s he dominated the motorcycle Grand Prix circuit and took seven world titles. He was MV Augusta’s star rider and won the 350cc crown three times and the big 500cc title in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960. An astonishing achievement by anyone’s standards. But then, Surtees turned his attention to car racing. He was offered a works drive with Lotus and made his Formula One Grand Prix debut at the famous Monaco street circuit in Monte Carlo. The following year he raced with the Cooper team and then in 1962 with Lola. In 1963, Surtees was summoned to Maranello, Italy, and offered a works drive with the Ferrari F1 team and went onto win the German Grand Prix that season.

The following year, still with Ferrari, Surtees scored five Grands Prix victories and sufficient points to take the 1964 Formula One World Championship. To date, John Surtees remains the only man to have ever won a World Championship on both two wheels and four. Another Englishman who followed in Surtee’s footsteps was Mike Hailwood. Affectionately know as ‘Mike the Bike’, Hailwood took over in motorcycling where Surtees had left off. In 1961 he joined the fledgling Honda Grand Prix team, winning the 250cc World championship that year. He also became the first man in the history of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy to win the 125cc class, the 250cc and the 500cc categories. In 1962 he switched to MV Agusta and won the 500cc World Championship and was the first rider ever to win four consecutive World titles, 1962-1964.

Then he switched back to Honda and won a further four titles back to back – the 250cc and 350cc World Championships in 1966 and 1967. Hailwood is so closely associated with the Isle of Man TT circuit that nobody would ever dispute that he made it his own. Few were as quick as Hailwood around the Island and certainly nobody was faster. By 1967 Hailwood had had won there no less than 12 times. But his last TT appearance was on a Honda that was possibly Hailwood’s best race ever. Riding the RC181 he fought a lengthy battle with longtime rival Giacomo Agostini. Hailwood won the 500cc race and set a lap record in the process that remained unbroken for the following eight years. Honda pulled out of motorcycle racing in 1968, but such was the regard in which it held Hailwood, the company paid him more than $500,000 (around $1.2 million today) to not race for any another motorcycle manufacturer until Honda could return to Grand Prix racing.

Mike Hailwood Faced with the prospect of not being able to race a bike, Hailwood turned to cars. He raced at his first Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1969, taking third place, won the 1972 Formula Two Championship and raced in more than 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix with Lola, Surtees, McLaren and Lotus achieving some highly respectable results. In 1973, during the South African Grand Prix he rescued fellow driver Clay Regazzoni from a burning car, for which Hailwood was presented with Britain’s highest award for bravery that a civilian can be awarded. Hailwood retired from car racing in 1974 after being badly injured at the German F1 Grand Prix. Five years later, the world of motorcycle racing was calling him back. Hailwood entered the 1978 Isle of Man TT and many observers felt that, after 11 years away, he stood little chance of being competitive. On a Ducati 900SS he proved them all wrong and took a convincing win.

The following year he was back for one more try at the TT on a Suzuki RG500 in the Senior class; he won that first race and then decided to try his hand at using the same bike in the Unlimited Class. Hailwood so nearly succeeded and was just two seconds behind the eventual race winner Alex George on a much bigger and more powerful Honda 1100. It was finally then that Hailwood decided to call it a day. He switched to running an automotive business in the UK, but in 1981 on a family outing to a local restaurant, a truck driver made an illegal ‘U’ turn in front of Hailwood’s car. The ensuing crash claimed the life of Hailwood’s nine-year-old daughter and Mike died two days later in hospital from the injuries he received. The world of motorcycle and car racing was never quite the same again. Surtees awarded CBE in New Year’s Honours Surtees awarded CBE in New Year’s Honours 31 Dec 2015 Share John Surtees, the only man to win world championships on both four and two wheels, has been awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in Britain’s New Year Honours List.

Surtees, who won seven world motorcycling crowns before claiming six Grands Prix victories and the 1964 world drivers’ title, was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1959 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008. However the 81-year-old has now been honoured with the more senior title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his considerable contribution to the field of motorsport. Recommended John Surtees History - The Motorcycling Champion Who Won Formula 1 Cars , Motorcycles on October 9th, 2015 If you think motorsport today is demanding, then going back more than half a century would enlighten you more about what the true challenges racers held for themselves. It was a different era – the 1950s and 1960s. In a post-war world that was picking up the pieces of what was left over, racing was quickly becoming a popular sport to reclaim the minds and hearts of people with thrill, entertainment and a sense of freedom post the apocalypse of the wars.

The 50s and 60s are regarded as the “Golden Age of Racing” due to the sheer enthusiasm for the sport, participation and glory that it brought to the entire industry. This was the time responsible to create some of the greatest racers in the history of the sport. John Surtees was one such man, who’s accomplishments are yet to be undone, more than six decades from when he was in his prime. John Surtees Aboard The MV Agusta At The Isle of Man TT John as a kid grew interested in motorcycles and the sport after spending time with his father, who back then owned a Vincent Motorcycle showroom in south London. His appreciation for the sport kept growing and his first professional motorsport participation came in a sidecar, racing alongside his father. His fascination growing, Surtees started racing solo by the age of 15, where his first competition came in the form of a Grasstrack race. In 1950, Surtees aged 16, started working as apprentice at the Vincent factory.

His eye for competition always sharp, John’s first headlining race came in 1951 when he gave Norton racing star Geoff Duke a tough challenge at the ACU race at the Thruxton Circuit. It was’nt long before Norton boss Joe Craig realised the talent in young John and appointed him as one of the racers to race for the factory team in 1955. The same year John went on to beat the reigning world champion Geoff Duke, first in Silverstone followed by another victory at Brands Hatch. John Surtees Aboard The MV Agusta Unfortunately these were tough times for Norton, with the company hanging in a balance, there was uncertainty if they could continue racing. Sensing the volatile situation, John left the team and went ahead to accept MV Agusta racing team’s offer… one of the most important and crucial decisions of his career that would go ahead to win him multiple World Championship titles. John Surtees Aboard The MV Agusta While MV Agusta’s 350 and 500 cc motorcycles were good, they were no match for the Gileras which were lighter, faster and more nimble in comparison.

As it turned out, Gilera and Moto Guzzi decided to pull out of world championship racing after the 1957 season, lending MV Agusta a strong position in world series racing. Before where John struggled aboard the MV Agusta 500 Quattro during the 1957 season, finishing third, 1958 presented no challenge to him at all after the departure of Gilera and Moto Guzzi. Everything was on his side, he had the strongest motorcycles to compete in the races and the talent to back it up. During 1958, 1959 and 1960 John with the MV Agusta 350 and 500 cc competition machines showed relentless domination, winning 32 races out of 39… becoming the only man to win the Senior TT at the Isle of Man TT three years in succession. John Surtees rounds the karuassell at the ‘Ring, Ferrari 1964. While all this while success was coming his way on two wheels, many suggested him to move to four wheels. John’s first attempt at four wheel racing came with the Aston Martin DR1 and Vanwall at Goodwood.

With both the camps impressed, ready to sign John, he refused, wanting to continue racing for MV Agusta. Only after the championship season of 1960 where John won his third 350 cc championship and fourth 500 cc championship, he decided that he would look into switching to four wheel racing, putting in a few races for Ken Tyrrell in Formula Junior and with Colin Chapman in Formula One with their Lotus team. John Surtees with The Ferrari 312 At The Monaco Grand Prix John was a natural talent in racing, two- and four-wheels both. During 1960, he put in a total of nine wins for MV Agusta in seven World Championship events, while simultaneously finishing second in the Formula Junior race as well placing second in the Formula F2 race and second in his second Formula One Grand Prix. John Surtees Onboard a Ferrari 330 P2 Nurburgring Germany With his success rate, it wasn’t long before he got Ferrari’s attention. At a time when the Italian marque was not doing specially well and with no championship win for almost three years, John Surtees was brought in.

Surtees did not disappoint and the first victory came at the 1963 German Grand Prix, Ferrari’s first championship victory since 1961. John Surtees 1966 At Spa Francorchamps With John’s help in developing the cars, Scuderia Ferrari slowly rose back to the challenge and John Surtees finally lifted his Formula One World Championship trophy … earning him the title of “Grand Master” – the one and only who had command over both the two and four wheel world. John Surtees who is 81 years old as of 2015, has yet to meet his match. While he retired from racing in 1972, his spirit for the sport and competition was a unique one that can never be forgotten and in most probability never be matched.

John Surtees Major Racing Achievements 350 cc Motorcycle World Championships: 1958, 1959, 1960 500 cc Motorcycle World Championships: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 Isle of Man Senior TT Wins: 1958, 1959, 1960 Formula One World Championship: 1964 News Feature > GP drivers from the motorcycle world > F1 Features - Grandprix.com Grandprix.com GP drivers from the motorcycle world SEPTEMBER 1, 1993 BY JOE SAWARD There is nothing new about Grand Prix drivers who started their careers, racing on motorcycles. A quick look back through the record books reveal some great names in Grand Prix racing started out on two-wheels: Tazio Nuvolari was a top bike racer in the 1920s in Italy and his motor racing rival Achille Varzi started out as one of his two-wheeled rivals on bike, Varzi being the first Italian to compete in the Isle of Man TT bike races.

German Bernd Rosemeyer was also an accomplished bike racer before he joined Auto Union. That was before the Formula 1 World Championship began in 1950, but the link between the two sports is still a strong one. Piero Taruffi , who didn't retire from racing until 1957, raced motorcycles in Italy as early as 1925. In the late 1930s Alberto Ascari , who would become World F1 Champion in 1952 and 1953, regularly competed in Italian bike races. It was a similar story in France with Jean Behra a three-time French motorcycle champion before he switched to cars in 1949. That tradition would continue with Jean-Pierre Beltoise , who won 11 national titles in motorcycling, before going car racing and later still Patrick Depailler . The British too had great champions who switched: the most famous of them being Mike 'the Bike' Hailwood and John Surtees , who in 1964 became the first and only man to win World Championships on two wheel and on four wheels.

Just looking at the names it is clear that there is a crossover between talented bike racers and talented racing drivers. Team Lotus 's Peter Collins , one of F1's top talent spotters, explains: "It is an obvious thing to do. These guys know all about the speed and what you have to do. A man who is quick on two wheels will usually be quick on four because he understands the sort of things he has to do." Of the current F1 drivers only a couple have competed in motorcycle events, although others such as Gerhard Berger and Michael Andretti admit that they love to ride motorcycles in their spare time - just for fun. The most successful biker-turned-racer of the current generation is Williams driver Damon Hill . His story is unusual because he went bike racing because he wanted to show he was different from his father, the late F1 World Champion Graham Hill . "I wanted to do my own thing," explains Damon, "so I started racing bikes. I wanted to do everything myself. I drove the van to the circuit, mechanicked the bike, changed the tyres, everything. By the time it got to the race I was exhausted.

All the other guys had these tuned-up machines and I would just arrive, take off the air filter and get out there. It was slow learning process but I was competitive in the end. Now I've got a dustbin liner full of trophies that I don't know what to do with.' Hill competed in both motorbike trials and road racing, scoring 40 wins at Brands Hatch. It was through the circuit in Kent that his racing career began. He was invited to race, he tried it and he liked it. Quietly he will admit that he was under pressure from his mother, who thought motorcycle too dangerous and in the hope that he would switch, paid for him to attend the famous Winfield School at Magny-Cours in France. He wasn't really interested at the time, but he went along to keep mum happy... And unlike many of the current F1 stars, he didn't win the Winfield/Elf competition. The other current F1 star who competed on bikes is another Briton Mark Blundell . He spent three years in motocross from the age of 14. He couldn't race cars because he didn't have a licence, so he competed on bikes instead.

As soon as he was old enough he bought a Formula Ford 1600 and in his first year he competed in 70 races and won 25 of them. Italian Fabrizio Barbazza , who was recently dropped by the Minardi F1 team, was also an accomplished motocross rider, winning the Italian junior motocross championship in 1981. But this is not a question of preference, often wild youngsters channel their competitive instincts into bike racing because they don't know about karting; or because they cannot afford to buy karts, but can find the money for bikes. Sometimes, in the tradition of Hailwood and Surtees, top bike racers realise that life on two wheels after a certain age is too dangerous for them to accept and they look for a sport which will give them the same thrills, without exposing them to the same sort of dangers. There are many good examples of this: Barry Sheene competed in British touring car racing after he quit motorcycling, Gregg Hansford did the same in Australia and Steve Parrish has built himself a very successful second career in the world of truck racing.

The most recent man to switch sides is Wayne Gardner, who has given up bikes to race for Holden in Australian touring car racing. Recently Gardner was spotted testing an F1 Lotus at Snetterton, so perhaps we can look forward to the Australian trying to find a way into F1 - in the finest traditions of the sport. He'd probably be quite quick. Ranking the Top 10 British Racing Drivers in Formula 1 History | Bleacher Report Ranking the Top 10 British Racing Drivers in Formula 1 History By Matthew Walthert , Featured Columnist Jul 3, 2014 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Associated Press 0 Comments This weekend is the 50th running of the British Grand Prix at its current home, Silverstone. It is a de facto home race for most Formula One teams and—along with Monaco, Monza and Spa—one of the only circuits remaining from the first F1 season, 1950. The UK has also produced many of the best drivers in the history of F1, including 19 grand prix winners.

From Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark to Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton , there have also been 10 British World Drivers' champions. In honour of F1's homecoming, here are the top 10 British F1 drivers of all time. Lewis Hamilton and Jackie Stewart. There are three criteria used to establish this ranking: Career winning percentage World Drivers' Championships Top-three finishes in the World Drivers' Championship The 19 British race winners were ranked in each category, with the top driver in each one receiving 19 points and the bottom driver one point. The overall ranking is based on their total scores. The system is not quite as elaborate as the one we used in our ranking of all 32 world champions, but the new category for top-three finishes should help recognise those drivers who were consistently among the best in the sport, even if they did not pile up a ton of championships. Anonymous/Associated Press Surtees with Enzo Ferrari in 1964. John Surtees, Tony Brooks and David Coulthard just missed the cut for the top 10, but it was very close.

Surtees, born in London in 1934, won the 1964 world title for Ferrari, but he only finished in the top three one other time in his F1 career. Before his F1 career, Surtees was also a motorcycle racer, and he is still the only man to win world championships in both motorsport disciplines. Although Brooks won six of the 38 grands prix he started, he never won a world championship. His closest finish was second in 1959, four points behind Jack Brabham. Coulthard won 13 races in his career and finished third in the championship four times. In 2001, he finished second, albeit 58 points behind Michael Schumacher and his dominant Ferrari. Paul Gilham/Getty Images Hamilton won the title on the final lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton has been more successful at Silverstone than his former teammate, Button. He won the British Grand Prix in 2008, the year of his Drivers' title with McLaren, and has scored two other podium finishes. Last year, Hamilton was leading the race until he had a tyre puncture, eventually finishing fourth.

With four victories already in 2014, Hamilton has passed Jim Clark for third place on the list of British Grand Prix winners, with 26. He is only five behind Nigel Mansell for the lead, a total he could reach this season with Mercedes' dominant car.

Question: Who is the only man to have won both a motorcycling world championship and the Formula 1 World Championship?
Answer: John Surtees